Chronicowls '13 - Wagner (on Temple-Wagner)

And so they came to the Land of Liacouras, these Seahawks, from their 105-acre perch atop Grymes Hill on Staten Island, overlooking harbor, ocean and Manhattan. They were loaded for bear fresh off their mid-week dismantling of Princeton via an 8-2 OT run. Coached by Bashir Mason, who led Drexel in assists and steals for four years and beat Temple as a senior, the Green & White had averaged 43 pts. in two wins and 63 in three losses. If you can imagine that!

Saturday afternoon’s final at the staggeringly unpopulated (no part of an announced 5,371) North Broad bastion: 70-62 Owls, about which Dunphy confessed, “I think they outworked us…played harder…tougher…better than us. They deserve a lot of credit, the Wagner guys.” Hmmm. Probably so, praying to reprise their 25-6 campaign last year. But they were smaller and couldn’t shoot straight, or long, with a woeful trey display of 3-for-11. That’s vs. Temple’s 9-19, 47.4% longball game, surpassing its 16-38, 42.1 efficiency inside the arc.

Advisedly ceding the turnover title 12-7, the Owls prevailed in FG and FT percentages (.431, .786), blocked shots (7-4), assists (14-11) and steals (7-3). Three Wagner guys may’ve had three with double figures, but they were no match for Temple’s two, Scootie Randall with 10 pts. plus a team-high 9 boards and Khalif Wyatt with a game-high 26 in his 34 minutes. That included a critical trey at the 1:45 mark when Wagner had, somehow, fought back to trail just 60-55. Which must’ve been what Dunphy meant!

Strange game? Sure. Minutes in, Wagner led 10-2. Cause for concern? Welllll…nope. Moments later, it was all Owls, 12-10. And they built leads from there, albeit never commanding, because Wagner, despite an entertaining airball display and some awfully short guys in awfully long shorts, is certainly scrappy. And don’t forget, these Seahawks were seeking to set the tone for their gridiron brethren who, that evening, would tangle with Eastern Washington in the FCS playoffs, after trumping their 0-3 start with a slick 9-0 finish. In the end, alas, both squads fell.

NEC conference member Wagner draws from a student body under 2,200, with 375 grad students thrown in. Temple doesn’t. Speaking of which, Temple’s graduate forward Jake O’Brien added 8 pts. and others of the nine who saw action contributed. But now the fun starts. First, the Big 5 opener at the Pavilion on Wednesday vs. a ’Nova squad ripe for the picking. Looks like 6-0, best since the ’87-’88 opening run of 14-0 (en route to 32-2). Then, next Saturday at the Izod Center, it’s Doooookkk. So 7-0 outta the box could portend great things this season, especially with three home games to follow.

Oh, and by the way, one great thing happened when the Owls’ all-male Broad Street Line took center court before tip-off to belt out a courageous and mostly harmonious rendition of, “Oh, say can you see.” If you can see ’em at an entertainment venue near you, do. If, on the other hand, you’re offered one chance to hurl an ersatz bowling ball the length of the Liacouras court at an ersatz bunch of bowling pins, albeit for $10,000, tell ’em you’ll have to ask your mother.

 Posted by "Tall Phil" Wagner

Chronicowls '13- Meeting of the Owls

The Owls of Temple hosted their counterparts from Rice University, in the 2012-13 hoops season opener at the Liacouras Center. And the wise Owls prevailed, relying upon their experienced seniors (Hollis-Jefferson, Wyatt, and Randall) and two grad students (DiLeo and O'Brien)to outlast the visitors. By the way, Temple and Rice are two of four Division I basketball programs to use the "Owls" moniker. Not present on the Liacouras Center floor Saturday night were Florida Atlantic and Kennesaw State.
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The Liacouras Center, now in its 16th year, has gone high-tech. Welcome news for the "Temple fan experience". A new center-hung scoreboard consisting of four video screens and featuring high-definition quality visuals for live action, replays, game animations, team logos, student athlete introductions and real-time statistics. And that's not all. Complementing the center-hung scoreboard is  a new   LED ribbon system spread (or wrap-around)across the Liacouras Center's 200 Level façade. Very impressive. One glitch noted by last night's attendees - lighting varies in intensity depending upon the background of the advertising being shown on the wraparound. I'm confident it will be worked out.
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The Owls are comfortable in their nest - they have won 36 of their last 38 games  at home.
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 Temple clearly looked to be the superior side early on, jumping out to a 16-5 lead. For the next seven minutes, the Owls scored but seven points, and found themselves tied at 23. Rice stayed close (they were within one point of Temple with 9 minutes remaining in the game) but never took the lead.
Keys to Temple's win: twice as many assists (16) as turnovers (8) and making 10 of 11 free throws in the second half.
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The Owls bench  -- comprised of T.J. DiLeo, Dalton Pepper, Jake O'Brien, Quenton DeCosey and Dan Dingle and considered to be a strength of the team-- posted just five points and didn't register a single basket until five minutes remained in the game. The Temple bench was outscored by Rice's,
18-5, and went 1-for-11 shooting.
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Good-sized crowd last night (almost 7000) , spirited student section (the Wild Cherry), and a full complement of enthusiastic pep band members. All enjoyed a highly entertaining halftime performance by a rope-skipping, somersaulting troupe whose show was one of the best in years.
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The oddsmakers had  Temple favored by 14. Final score: Temple Owls 77 - Rice Owls 63.

Chronicowls '12 Temple - UMass

Just as European custom may find the woman seeking the man’s hand in blissful (is there any other kind?) matrimony on Feb. 29, so it was on this Leap Day 2012 Edition that the Owls beseeched the Minutemen to stay the course on the Liacouras Dance Floor, where Chaz Williams had it in overdrive from the start authoring a personal 26-pt. (game high, shared with Khalif Wyatt) clinic, featuring 5 of 7 treys + game highs of 11 assists and 4 steals. And the 69” (uhhh, maybe) high (not “tall”) whirling dervish even grabbed 8 rebounds, for cryin’ out loud.

But, serendipitously, that was hardly the story of this Liacouras Leap Lunge—not on our Senior Night, not in our house, not with the A-10 tourney top seed dangling in the balance. No sir. The headline signature moment was…hold on, is this possible… as exhilarating, octave-scaling, deeply mez-MO-rizing a rendition of the national anthem as we’ve likely heard since Julius Caesar coined Leap Day. Truly, this golden-tonsiled goddess could’ve halftimed a Gladiatorial Super Bowl in Rome’s great Coliseum. Talk about a tough act to follow…but we digress.

Here, then, was a cherry’n’white squad, slackjawed at Chaz’ jazz and hardly energized by an early Juan Fernandez 4-pointer, with a transcendent vocal presence still suspended in the air. Yet the anthem did end, on the word “brave,” no less, and the game did ensue, on this night where things weren’t always as they seemed, and things seemed ill at ease. From tipoff to .7 sec. left in OT, less than recommended went right for a Temple team looking to finish with wins in 13 of its last 14 (check, assuming 10-18 Fordham complies on Sat.,), a 13-3 conference record (check, ditto Fordham) and a barely nicked 13-1 home slate (check, thanks Dayton). The 90-88 final tally, after Temple’d squandered its 10-pt. cushion over the final 150 seconds of regulation, before yielding the first 6 markers in OT, didn’t come easy. In fact, it left the announced 6,519 faithful near catatonic, uncertain if and when to launch into “I do believe that we…”

But all was right with the universe when the words “…have won!” came full cycle. And the Owls  had, by a whisper, thanks in no small measure to their staggering 30 of 40 free throws vs. UMass’ 6 of 10. A correlated success: Owls had just 14 fouls vs. UMass’ 25. Beyond that, comparable numbers all around, mostly, other than the Minutemen’s .449 vs. .391 field goal superiority. Fortunately, enter #1, on this undesignated Khalif Wyatt Night. The junior guard’s 26 were big, yes, especially including only 4 field goals. So how huge were his 17 (yup, seventeen) free throws? And his deft touch scoring the final 7 pts. of an OT where UMass nailed the first 6? Oh, and let’s not forget Michael Eric’s career high 19, all after intermission, plus a game high 15 rebounds (tying his season high). Or Juan Fernandez’s well-above-average 18. All on a night when Ramone Moore’s 13 were 4 pts. under average.

The difference, on this Senior Night? Maybe #31 Jake Godino. Okay, he played only the first minute in his 6^th game appearance, bringing his season total to all of 9 minutes, but the guy bagged his first career start, set the game tone and showed his grit while dishing a flawless pass even as the world cried SHOOT! Untold stories like Godino’s can propel teams to greatness. He was joined at center court pregame by Messrs. Moore, Fernandez and Eric in receiving framed jerseys from a duly grateful Fran Dunphy. (Heck, could he be Jeremy Lin in disguise for the Big Dance?)

Alas, reluctantly, we bid farewell to the effervescent Diamond Gems and Spirit Squad, the resonant trombonists-oboists-percussionists et al, the Drunken Dunkin’s, the Silverthroated Voice of the Owls, the Hot Dog Howitzer that Couldn’t (Be Shot Straight), the…. Happy summer to all, till we gather again to exhort the 2012-2013 Temple Owls, whose predecessors, we here predict, will find deserved madness in this fabled month of March.

Guest post by Chronicowls Contributor Tall Phil (the Content Razor)

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Duquesne

A standout shooting performance overcame a slow start to lead the Cherry and White hoopsters to their 10th consecutive victory, and 21st of the season. The Owls took two-and-a-half minutes to score their first basket, and  five minutes into the game the score was tied at 4-4. In the next ten minutes, the Owls scored 30 points, to take a decisive 34-22 lead. Juan Fernandez contributed 14 points during that span, 20 points overall, and logged 6 assists with but one turnover for the game. Temple shot 57% from the field, 52% from beyond the three-point arc, and 80% from the free throw stripe.
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Temple fans must prefer games on Saturday afternoon  over Saturday night. Yesterday's crowd of nearly 10,000 was greater than the crowd last Saturday night for the Xavier game. Hooter's Birthday Party couldn't have been the draw. There's a tradition that should be retired. Along with the "special" Simon Says game during half-time that involves some twenty mascots (they're not just team mascots any longer, now there are appearances by product mascots, like the J&J soft pretzel)
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Khalif Wyatt has perfected a move to the basket that looks awkward to me yet is very effective (Wyatt led all Temple scorers in this game, and is second for the season). Just this past week did a knowledgeable basketball fan inform me that Wyatt's move has a name (the Eurostep), it was introduced to the NBA by Manu Ginobli, and it has been adopted by several NBA stars, among them Dwayne Wade. Let the New York Times describe it:

 "Players in the NBA. now often showcase the Eurostep, a move in which a player drives past a defender by stepping one way and then quickly taking a big lateral step in the other direction. The move is a crafty way to distribute the two steps allocated to a player after he stops dribbling, and it goes right to the edge of being a traveling violation."      

All along I'm thinking that Wyatt's move is awkward, and actually he's being crafty. Keep it up, Khalif.
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There have many keys to Temple's success this season. Unquestionably, one of them has been the Owls' assist-to-turnover ratio. Their ratio of 1.27 places them 22nd in the nation (among 343 schools). Yesterday's game was their sixth of the season in which the Owls had at least 20 assists. Ramone Moore scored just three points, but he had a career-high 8 assists. Fernandez is now 7th in assists on the all-time Temple list.
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Temple is now ranked (for the first time this season) in the Top 25 poll, and stands at #16 in the all-important RPI rankings. And the Owls are 10-3 against top 100 teams.Two huge games on the road this week, against intracity rivals and top 100 teams LaSalle and St. Joe's. I expect both to be sellouts. FINAL home game, leap night, against UMass.
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Maxi's, right in the hear of Temple's campus, was the pre-game meeting spot. One of the few places left where one can find a juke box. And it has among its selections George Thorogood's 1977 recording of the classic "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer".
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Temple scarves are everywhere, including the shoulders of Shellie Straub, former nationally ranked squash player, who was a Temple fan Saturday (and we hope from hereon) and joined the gathering at Maxi's.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Xavier

The Cherry Crusade were in full throat and in white last night, for ESPN's national telecast of the Temple-Xavier Atlantic 10 showdown. As you might surmise, a "whiteout" was called for the game, and 8000 white shirts with the motto "I Believe" were placed on the seats before last night's game.

And here they are, on their feet, at the end of an outstanding Temple hoops performance, celebrating, before a national viewing audience, by chanting the now-familiar refrain of  I Believe That We Have Won.

For a recap of the game, I'll let Chronicowls commenter Scott Matlack describe what unfolded:

"Temple got off to a hot start and never looked back.  They were up 17 - 5 early and by 20 points for most of the game.  Temple shot 7 -11 from three-point land in the first half to dust Xavier.  Ramone Moore had 30 points and could have had 40 if they weren't trying to burn the clock in the second half."
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Disappointing that the game was not a sellout. Let's blame it on the weather. And the fact that there were four other Division 1 college basketball games in Philly yesterday, attended by nearly than 25,000 fans, including the Temple crowd. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was electric inside the Liacouras Center.
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Michael Eric had a big game, registering a double-double that included 16 rebounds. Temple used a 7-minute Xavier scoring drought in the first half to go on a 16-0 run. And T.J. DiLeo played a solid game off the bench.
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Last night's game was the start of a challenging stretch of games to finish the regular season, as each of Temple's next five opponents has a winning record. Next home game is Saturday, against Duquesne, tipping off at 2pm.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-GW I CAN'T Believe That We Have Won

I CAN’T Believe That We Have Won!  Down by 10 points with five minutes remaining in the game, the Cherry and White scored 22 points in those final five minutes to pull off an astounding come-from-behind win against GW.

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The Owls were favored by 15 points.  With just over three minutes played in the second half, the scoreboard read 49-34. GW IN THE LEAD.  Khalif Wyatt and Ramone Moore  took over from there,  scoring 34 of the Owls’ 45 points, including the final 14, to lead their team to victory.

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A paltry crowd of just over 4000.  Granted, GW came into the game with a losing record, but where were the Temple fans, including the students, whose Cherry Crusade section was about half-full.  The Pep Band was in full force, and did their best to keep the fans’ spirits up during a discouraging first-half performance by the home side.

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Temple scarves could be seen throughout the stands.  Here, a scarf is presented to  Temple alum Jim Howat, former Temple swim team captain who coached numerous championship soccer and swim  teams at Roxborough High (disclosure: this blogger is an alumnus of Roxborough High, Temple University, and George Washington University).

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The Owls (fast approaching another 20-win season) now stand at #20 in the RPI ratings, and will host #62 Xavier in a rare Saturday night game at the Liacouras Center. A capacity crowd, and a WhiteOut, are expected.

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Post-game celebration was held at the Rose Tatoo.  Recommended. Plenty of menu selections, fine food, attentive service, and reasonable prices.

Happy Birthday, Lavoy

Chronicowls has closely followed Lavoy Allen during his four very productive years at Temple (see posts here and here). So we're particularly gratified to see him doing so well for our local pro hoops team. Got his first start in the NBA yesterday (on his birthday!).  And as blog contributor Scott Matlack commented after Lavoy's breakout pro game against the mighty Bulls, "Maybe I'm just caught up in the Sixers success early in the season or maybe I'm just rooting hard for Lavoy...   he had 7 rebounds and 15 points. Both huge for the Sixers (in their win against Chicago)."

Congratulations, Lavoy, on a week of milestones!

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Fordham

GUEST POST FROM TALL PHIL RE. 2/1/12 GAME

’Twas an average sports night in a world-class sports mecca as the Owls mashed the Rams 78-60 while Drexel, St. Joe’s, LaSalle and “Your Sixers” all comfortably dictated, all on the very day that “I Accept All the Blame” Reid granted “Juan More Time” Castillo a stay of execution. So, get this, the Sixers at a radiant 16-6 take back seat to the Owls at 16-5.

This a great city or what?

The Owls own the Rams: five straight, 26 of the last 30, a perfect .750 over recorded history with 39 wins. You wouldn’t have known it through the first eight minutes of this one, though, as only hot-shooting Khalif Wyatt kept his stone cold mates in a game they would, when they came to their senses, last trail by 21-18.

Score at the break: 35-27. Half #1 was Wyatt’s, featuring 16 of his 24. Half #2 belonged to Ramon Moore, who knocked down a career high six treys and a game high 25, two more than Fordham ace Brian Smith. Rahlir H-J had 10. In the “go figure” department, Temple’s 15 turnovers were three more than Fordham’s, and their four steals one less. A still-recouping Michael Eric, in a reserve role yet, blocked five, a career-high tie. And we waited stoically for T.J. DiLeo to finish passing and start shooting, en route to a hard-earned three-point night.

So what do we know re. the 2011-2012 Temple Owls? They’re batting .762 after a season-high five game winning streak. They’re 8-1 at home, where five of their remaining nine regular season games will spontaneously combust. They play Fordham yet again, away, in the season clincher. They travel no further than Kingston, RI, where they play Fri. Only Xavier (15-7 after their win last night) would appear to loom large. If they stay-play within themselves, these Owls could run not just (up and down) the floor, but perhaps the proverbial table.

Non-basketball notes: One, the first 500 Temple students last eve received RecycleMania t-shirts. Two, hmmmm, y’think there were that many students there? Three, the attendance was 4,080—if you count the Diamond Gems and the Dribbling Dunkin' Donut Coffee Cups and the trombonists and the Super Inflectioned PA Meister, 73 times each. Four, speaking of which, how to ’splain the infernal rejoinder following every other whistle, “There’s a time out (voice up, up, away) …on the floor (voice, well, on the floor).” Okay, so just where else do timeouts routinely take place? Five, this group ate first at McCrossens Tavern on 20^th just below Spring Garden, where waiting, for salads not for Godot, was the core activity, and stars don’t come easily; and drank last at Jack’s Firehouse, 2130 Fairmount, a fine place to savor victory and consider the day.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-St. Joe's

Near flawless.  That would describe the Owls’ first and second  halves of yesterday’s game against St. Joe’s.  SIXTY percent shooting from the field, a season high.  Two-thirds of the three- point shots that Temple took in the first half went in.  Combine this with a five-minute St. Joe’s scoring drought beginning at the twelve-minute mark of the first half, and it’s easy to understand how the Cherry and White led by sixteen  (28-12) with just over six minutes remaining in the first half.  The Hawks didn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the game, and trailed by as many as 28 several times in the second half.

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Temple is 31^st in the nation (among more than 300 schools) in assist-turnover ratio.  They take care of the ball, and move it around nicely. Yesterday’s game was yet another example. 18 assists, and 11 turnovers.  One of the assists came from Michael Eric, who made a pass from underneath the basket that looked to be headed out-of-bounds, when T.J. Di Leo showed up to earn an easy  lay-up.
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Ramone Moore now has 13 straight double-digit point games. Khalif Wyatt has 8 straight such games. Yesterday’s was unlikely for Wyatt, as he finished the first half scoreless. Wyatt did have 8assists, as well. Four Owls in double figures, including Juan Fernandez, who scored 17 points in 23 minutes of playing action.

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A sellout, and then some.  Second largest crowd in the history of the Liacouras Center.  Peculiar, then, to see as many empty seats as I did.  Good to see a lively crowd of Owl supporters throughout the building. And the student section, the Cherry Crusade, were out in full throat and force.

Rollouts aplenty.  “Only Tebow Can Save the Hawk”  read one, and “LaSalle is more relevant than you” read another. And the now customary “I Believe That We Have Won” chant, which was preceded by a “I Believe the Hawk is Dead” chant.  See the final rollout below.

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Our street parking spot yesterday took us through the heart of the Temple campus, where we came upon, on Liacouras Walk, a fine spot for pre or post game adult beverages. Look for Maxi’s, next to a connected pizzeria  and Conwell Inn, a bed-and-breakfast which also serves as the official hotel of Temple University.

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Most of the sponsored contests that pass for “entertainment”  during time-outs are inane. Why does the PA announcer insist on providing fans with a running commentary on what is plainly visible to all watching. And if he’s going to do so, can’t he at least make the effort to learn the names of the contestants so that we don’t have to hear “she shoots”, “she dribbles”, “he misses”, etc.  
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Ten more games remain in the regular season, half at home. Considering that the Owls have been without two starters for most of the season thus far, a 15-5 record is most impressive.  Temple entered the game at #15 in the RPI rankings, and may rise higher after the win.  Credit Coach Dunphy.  Next home game is Wednesday evening, 7pm, against Fordham. This squad is entertaining to watch, and deserves your support.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Maryland

Twice as many assists as turnovers. That’ll win most basketball games. As it did, yesterday MORNING, for the Cherry and White.  Temple’s starting three guards,  Juan Fernandez, Ramone Moore, and Khalif Wyatt,  produced 54 points, 13 assists, and but 5 giveaways.  And substitute guard Aaron brown contributed 12 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds in 26 minutes of play. An impressive Parliament of Owls.  Graduate student Michael Eric  returned to action after a 13-game absence due to a fractured right patella.

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A packed but not quite full Palestra, although the attendance was announced as a sellout of 8722. Doubtless, more than a few couldn’t make the game because of “wintry mix” driving conditions. Nonetheless, plenty of spirit and energy in the hoops cathedral, as the Maryland faithful “travel well”, and brought at least several thousand supporters to the Penn campus venue. So it seemed more like a Big Five contest, as each cheering section tried to outdo the other. Only rollouts were absent.

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A little more than 5 minutes remain in the game.  In the five minutes just elapsed, the Terrapins had cut a 10-point Temple lead to one. In the next 90 SECONDS, first Wyatt, then Moore, and then Fernandez each make unlikely three point shots.  I Believe We Have Won broke out with about one minute remaining.

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It was an extraordinary day for Philadelphia college basketball, and its fans. For starters, one could have begun  at 11am with the Temple-Maryland tipoff, enjoyed lunch following the game (Slainte, at 30^th and Market, was a good choice yesterday), walked several blocks to the Daskalakis Athletic Center to join 2500 other fans to watch Drexel play Northeastern (the Dragons won), then return to the Palestra to join another sellout crowd to watch Penn edge St. Joe’s in a Big Five classic.  If an Explorers fan, one could have gone to the Gola Arena (instead of the Daskalakis Center)  to see LaSalle play Rhode Island. All in all, five city teams won (Villanova played at Madison Square Garden where they defeated St. John’s) and more than 20,000 fans were in attendance at college basketball games across the city and throughout the day .  Reuben Frank, CSNPhilly columnist,  has an interesting recap of the day (read here ).

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Amazing series of ramps now connect part of the Penn campus. It is now possible to walk from the River Field athletic complex to the Palestra without setting foot on a Philadelphia street.

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Oddsmakers had the Owls favored by NINE over their ACC opponent.  Surprised me (after all, Maryland entered the game with a record (12-5) identical to Temple’s), but the forecasters had obviously done their research, as the Owls beat the spread. While the game was tight throughout, Temple trailed for less than a minute, and led the entire second half.

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The Diamond Gems were in fine form yesterday. The halftime entertainment featured a young man in a Temple teeshirt performing one  balancing act after another (using his chin) , starting with a chair and concluding with a 10-foot stepladder. You had to be there!

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Temple now stands at #19 in the RPI rankings.  St. Joe’s, their next opponent at the Liacouras Center, this Saturday at 4pm, holds the 60^th place in the RPI.  Before then, a difficult game on the road, against Charlotte, this Wednesday evening.  Only radio coverage(1210 AM WPHT) of the game.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-LaSalle

Entertaining game between the Owls and Explorers. Most accounts of the game offered a similar assessment, adding that it was a typical Big Five game. Which, actually, it wasn’t. A Big Five game, that is.  The next time Temple and LaSalle match up, then at the Gola Arena, will count in the Big Five standings.  While on the subject of the Big Five, it’s time for the group to evolve. It’s now time for the City Six.

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More than 8000 fans watched the evening’s proceedings.  More than respectable.  LaSalle fans filled two sections of the Liacouras Center. Not a bad turnout for a LaSalle road game, yet considering that the game was but a 10-minute subway ride for students on the LaSalle campus, I expected more fans. After all, LaSalle came into the game with a  record of 13 up, and just 5 down, the best start to a season in many a year.

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Balanced scoring, and better than 50% shooting, were key to Temple’s win.  Four Owls scored in double figures, led by Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson’s career high of 19 points.  Temple has shot better than 50% from the field in six games this year. Unsurprisingly, the Owls have won five of them.

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The oddsmakers had Temple favored by 5. During the last 11 minutes of the game, Temple owlways led, but never by more than 5, until Khalif Wyatt made two foul shots to give Temple its final six-point margin, and give rise to the “I Believe We Have Won” chant.   While there were no lead changes in the second half, on four occasions in the final ten minutes a LaSalle score cut their deficit to one.  Nail-biter.

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LaSalle played a solid game. Only 8 turnovers. But , like Temple, they field a short team, and the Cherry and White won the boards, outrebounding the Explorers by 38-27.

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PubWebb was the venue for a pre-game gathering of Temple fans (many in soccer scarves, see below).

The purchase of these  scarves support the Temple soccer program.

Here is Temple Sports Hall of Fame member Edna Brown-Hecht (far-right) with President Ann Hart, after President Hart was presented with the scarf during the game. (Chronicowls commenter Nelson Dunham is at left).

Email Joe Stulz at jstulz@verizon.net to purchase a scarf to support Temple soccer. 

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Dayton

It’s been more than two years that a Chronicowls post has followed a Temple basketball loss at the Liacouras Center.  Never may we  see again in our lifetime such a streak.

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Eleven minutes, thirty-eight seconds remain in the game.  The Owls ahead by six, 55-49. Dayton has just been called for an intentional foul. Ramone Moore at the foul line for two shots, followed by Temple’s keeping possession of the ball.  What followed had to be the turning point.  Two missed foul shots, two missed jumpers, and then a Temple foul. Within a minute  Temple’s lead had SHRUNK to two.

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Hardly, then,  did we expect that the final eight minutes might be the finest we’ll see a team play  this season.  With 8 minutes remaining, Temple led by 3 points. Then Dayton proceeded to make 70 % of their shots from the field, 80% from beyond the three-point line, and 12 of 13 free throws. 30 points in all over these final eight minutes. As many points as Dayton had scored the entire first half.  Almost double the points the Owls could muster. And that’s what brought the two-year winning streak to an end.

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The crowd of just over 5000 fans was a disappointment. Not much of a walk-up sale. Surely would-be fans weren’t deterred by the weather, which was unseasonably mild and sun-splashed..

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The Chickie and Pete’s crab walk, a time-out activity involving two students having to make a foul shot after crab-walking two lengths of the court, proved  to be more difficult than the originators counted on. I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised – I’m not sure I could reach the basket from the foul line after just having crab-walked close to 200 feet. Anyway, the game was delayed for what seemed like a minute while the contestants failed to make any of a dozen shots from the foul line. The Dunkin' Donuts race between students decked out in coffee cups (iced and hot) is far more interesting.

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The Diamond Gems rehearsed the performance they’ll be giving at the collegiate dance team championships. I preferred their second number of the evening.

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A convivial group had a post-game meal at North Third, in northern Liberties, following the game. Recommended.

Letter to Temple

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Duke. I believe that we have won!

Last evening's game left me searching for words. So I'll let others do the talking.

What a great night for Temple, Philly basketball, and Fran Dunphy.  The mayor joined in with this tweet:

@Michael_Nutter: Congratulations #TempleU Owls on a HUGE win tonight! We're all so proud of you.

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Hollis-Jefferson contributed a season high 17 points on seven-of-10 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. Lee, a freshman, had his best game as an Owl, scoring 11 points, pulling down a team-high seven rebounds and rejecting a game-high three shots.

The duo led the Cherry and White to an improbable 32-29 rebound advantage.

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For the fourth consecutive season, Temple has defeated a top 10 team. As one tweet put it, #TUMBB=giantkillers.

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Temple fan and Chronicowls contributor Scott Matlack said before the game that the Owls would prevail if they shot well. And that they did, 56% from the field, and 50% from beyond the three-point arc.  Their best shooting performance thus far in the season. It is the highest single-game field goal percentage for Temple in nearly two years. Only an uncharacteristically high number of turnovers (17) kept the Owls from closing out the Blue Devils earlier than they did.

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A Hollis-Jefferson jumper with 10:45 left in the first half gave Temple the lead. Duke never led in the game again.

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The Wells Fargo Center hosted the third-largest crowd for a college basketball game in its history. And while there were plenty of blue shirts in the crowd, the turnout of Temple fans, including the student body, was most impressive. In case you were wondering, the largest college basketball crowd  at Wells Fargo was in 2006 when 20,859 fans saw Villanova knock off #1 ranked Connecticut.

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Here are the Temple students rushing the court:

Here is the lucky Temple scarf, worn by Chronicowls blogger. Their purchase supports the Owls soccer team.Look for us at the Liacouras Center this Saturday - the scarves are available for purchase.

While Temple's win was the evening's highlight, it was quite the night for other Philly schools, as Penn, St. Joe's, LaSalle (impressive win over Xavier) and Drexel all emerged as victors.

And, here, let ESPN recap the Temple win for us.

Chronicowls '12 Temple-Buffalo

Improbable. That was how one fan described the Owls'  home victory over Buffalo. Coming from behind in the final minutes, and winning the game in the final second on Anthony Lee's only basket of the evening. No one seemed certain how the ball wound up in Lee's hands - it seemed to most of us watching from the stands that Wyatt's missed shot had been rebounded by either of two Buffalo players. So here's another look at that improbable finish.

The win kept alive Temple's remarkable home court winning streak. It's now been more than two years since the Owls have lost at the Liacouras Center. And that loss was to Kansas, at the time ranked #1 in the nation.  25 consecutive wins since. Only six schools have a longer active home court winning streak.
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Buffalo has a solid squad. It wouldn't surprise me if they finished at or near the top of the Mid-American Conference. Considering how well Buffalo shot (better than 55%) and how poorly Temple shot (36%), it's surprising Temple was able to take the game into overtime. (The Owls have fared well this season in extra time games, winning all three they've played). Temple was simply outplayed inside "the paint", being outscored 50-32 and having 7 shots blocked. The key to victory, once again, was taking care of the ball, as the Owls had half as many turnovers (11) as their opponents (22). Juan Fernandez had an especially solid game,   scoring 21 points, recording 6 assists, and turning the ball over but once.
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A decent crowd of just over 4000, considering that it was Christmas week, an unranked opponent, and the students were on semester break. The fans were treated to an entertaining game, with 13 lead changes, 13 tie scores, and no lead larger than nine points. In other words, a tight game with plenty of drama.
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The Temple soccer team sold scarves this past fall as a fund-raiser. Edna Hecht, Temple alumni and Hall of Fame member, is modeling the scarf  below. Show your school spirit, keep warm, and be stylish with the Temple scarf. Drop me a note at tpcousounis@gmail.com or to Joe Stulz at jstulz@verizon.net if you're interested in purchasing one (or several).

Two important home games this week. This Wednesday evening, at the Wells Fargo Center, the Owls take on #7 ranked Duke. And this Saturday afternoon, tipping off at 4pm, the Owls open  Atlantic 10 conference play  against Dayton. The Owls now stand at #27 in the RPI ratings.